On 2011-06-26 21:30, thePorpoise wrote:I've scrapped triple sec in my margaritas altogether and use agave syrup in its place.

Hmmm... fwiw...

Agave syrup is a sweetener. Use it in Margaritas and other drinks.

Triple Sec is an orange liqueur. It is not a sweetener. It is not to be substituted in a drink with a sweetener.

And yes, it is to be heard. The flavor of a good margarita has a hint of orange. It is why sometimes orange slices are placed in the margarita. Remove it and you have a Tequila Daisy or something like it, especially if you use lemons instead of lime for your margaritas.

well aware. I make the substitution to enhance the agave flavor of the drink, given that tequila is distilled from agave, and i prefer it that way. this has been a trend for several years now in some quarters re the margarita.

well aware. I make the substitution to enhance the agave flavor of the drink, given that tequila is distilled from agave, and i prefer it that way. this has been a trend for several years now in some quarters re the margarita.

Yeah I have noticed that too. Lots of recipes coming out lately, especially from corporate sources, that totally ignore any mention of triple sec, but now always include some sort of agave sweetener, interesting.

LOL I haven't been able to find it out here. It was easy enough to get back in California, but so was Seniors, so I never even bought a bottle of Marie Brizzard. Trust me, the minute I find a liquor store that carries anything other than Bols or Dekuyper, I'm buying whatever it is. _________________

Yeah I have noticed that too. Lots of recipes coming out lately, especially from corporate sources, that totally ignore any mention of triple sec, but now always include some sort of agave sweetener, interesting.

Agave sweetener has been the "in" thing recently. However, some studies show it to be just as bad as HFCS.

Yeah I have noticed that too. Lots of recipes coming out lately, especially from corporate sources, that totally ignore any mention of triple sec, but now always include some sort of agave sweetener, interesting.

Agave sweetener has been the "in" thing recently. However, some studies show it to be just as bad as HFCS.

Thanks to some suggestion here, I used Grand Gala in place of the Senior and the difference was severe. The Gala for me is the better choice.Not to sweet and much more pleasant then the odd aftertaste the Senior contains. That coupled with a better quality of limes and the batch I made over the weekend were among the best I've made yet.I did try the Senior in a small test with a couple of drink experiments and found it to be a nice addition. So the Senior is not a bad product, but it needs to stay away from my mai tais. Thanks for the help!
_________________"I've been ionized, but I'm okay now." - B. Banzai

“The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass.” Martin Mull

I finally bought a bottle of Senior to try for myself. My normal go-to curaçao choices are Clement Creole Shrubb and Gran Gala. I just did a taste test with Senior against the Shrubb (out of gran gala) and was pleasantly surprised. Like others have said, the body of the Senior is a bit thinner than the Shrubb, but the I certainly got an orange flavor. I think I'd cut the amount back just a bit from the 0.5 oz in my next batch so I can taste the rum a bit more but I certainly have no complaints.

What a terrible chore...tweaking Mai tai recipes to compare ingredients.

Interesting, the cointreau was unanimously dead last. Some preferred the bitterness and dryness of the curacao more. The shrubb was thought to bring out a more pronounced (but not overpowering) orange flavor and also boost up the mid range rums I was using. They really thought I was using better rums. HA!

Surprisingly, a blind taste of the liqueurs on their own favored senor curacao over the creole shrubb. The shrubb "smelled like orange tequila". Whatever! It apparently made a better tasting mai tai.

Anyhow, I will never use cointreau for mai tais but I would not mind using either of the other orange liqueurs. The Senor is about $10 cheaper.